When we reported on Mecca Bingo’s June closures, we covered four clubs that shut their doors on 7 June: Exeter, Taunton, Birkenhead and St Helens.
However, after further research, we’ve discovered that the actual number of Mecca Bingo venues that closed during June was eight, not four.
The additional closures received far less publicity than the others, but for the communities they served, the impact was every bit as significant.
Kingstanding Says Goodbye to an Icon
Perhaps the most historically significant of the additional closures was Mecca Bingo Kingstanding in Birmingham.
The popular bingo club occupied the former Odeon Cinema, an impressive Art Deco building dating back to 1935 and one of the area’s most recognisable landmarks. It had operated as a Mecca Bingo club for more than six decades before closing on 7 June.
As with several of the other closures, Rank Group cited poor profitability alongside the substantial cost of repairs and maintenance as the reasons behind the decision.
The closure has already sparked calls from local campaigners to preserve the Grade II-listed building, which many residents see as an important part of Birmingham’s entertainment heritage.
Wishaw Loses Another Community Venue
Scotland was also affected, with Mecca Bingo Wishaw quietly closing its doors during June.
The Lanarkshire club had served local bingo players for decades and was one of the few remaining large bingo venues in the area.
Although the closure attracted relatively little national attention, regular customers expressed sadness at losing another community meeting place that had become part of their weekly routine.
Leith’s Long Bingo Story Comes to an End
Another Scottish casualty was Mecca Bingo Leith in Edinburgh.
Located in one of the capital’s best-known districts, the club had welcomed generations of players and had become a familiar feature of Leith’s high street.
Its closure further reduces Mecca’s presence in Scotland, where the operator has steadily reduced its estate over recent years as part of its wider restructuring programme.
Plymouth Also Disappears From the Mecca Map
The eighth club to disappear was Mecca Bingo Devonport, Plymouth.
Like many traditional UK bingo halls, the venue had evolved from an earlier entertainment building and had served the local community for many years.
While it wasn’t among the highest-profile closures, it represents another example of Britain’s shrinking retail bingo landscape, particularly in towns where standalone clubs have struggled to remain commercially viable.
Eight Closures in One Month Paint a Bigger Picture
The fact that eight Mecca clubs disappeared in a single month, rather than four – almost 10% of its total club count – paints an even starker picture of the direction of travel.
Rank Group continues to report improving revenues across the Mecca brand, but that success is increasingly coming from a smaller network of larger, stronger clubs. Venues with expensive leases, ageing buildings or declining attendance appear to be the first to go.
The June closures mean that communities across England and Scotland have lost long-established social venues that, for many customers, were about far more than just playing bingo.
As we said in our original article, we genuinely hope these closures prove to be the end of the current rationalisation programme.
Unfortunately, with eight clubs now gone in a single month, it feels even more likely they won’t be the last closures we read in our bingo news.
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